After missing the Chicago Bulls’ matchup against the Sacramento Kings, Alex Caruso is at risk of sitting out a second-straight game.
The team’s best defensive player is currently dealing with an illness that reportedly kept him out of practice on Thursday, per K.C. Johnson. The latest injury report now lists him as questionable for tomorrow’s game against Minnesota. While the Bulls were able to keep things surprisingly close against the top-ranked offense in the NBA without Caruso’s services, there is no doubt they’ll want him back on the floor this weekend.
The Timberwolves might hold just the 28th-ranked offensive rating in the NBA, but they dropped 150 points on the Bulls in regulation back on Dec. 18th. Anthony Edwards exploded for 37 points, while a total of seven players finished in double-figures. With Minnesota in the thick of a race for the No. 6 seed, there is no doubt they’ll come out hoping to step on the Bulls’ throat again.
Then, on Saturday, the Bulls will have to face a Heat squad that has won three of their last four games and dropped 119 points in each of those three wins. Jimmy Butler is playing some of his best basketball right now, and the Heat are just two games back from also being able to skip the Play-in Tournament altogether. Caruso’s relentless hustle and defensive leadership could be crucial to keeping things competitive against each of these teams.
We also had one other significant change on the injury report. For the first time since he underwent knee surgery in January, Javonte Green was upgraded to “doubtful.” We heard earlier this week that Green has finally started to trend in the right direction and do some lateral movement on the court. The expectation shouldn’t be that he returns to action tomorrow or even Saturday, but an upgraded designation at least signals he’s closer than ever before to rejoining the team.
All things considered, as the Bulls hope to secure one of the final Play-In Tournament spots, that’s some encouraging news.